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Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Donate Goods, Do Good

Last week we shared a couple of tips on how to recover from the holidays. One suggestion we made was to consider donating unneeded items to The Salvation Army. For several years now, A Cleaner World has been a drop off site for anyone that wants to donate their gently-used clothes, toys, household goods, and even furniture to The Salvation Army Family Thrift Stores. We’ve dubbed the project “Donate Goods, Do Good”, because items like these that are donated to The Salvation Army are sold to the community, many times at bargain prices, and the proceeds help support their programs like disaster relief, adult rehabilitation, youth camps, elderly services, and so on.

We tend to hear terms like programs a lot, but I think it helps to learn about the people that are impacted. Recently I spoke with Ellen Bliven of the Greensboro Salvation Army, and she shared so many stories of how the donations touch person after person. For instance, a few months ago a gentleman came into their store. He just needed a pair of shoes; the ones he had on were literally falling off of his feet. Then there are the transient folks that merely need a change of clothes and a few toiletries, and the families that cannot afford to clothe their children. These folks receive vouchers so that they can come in and shop and get what they need. I could continue on, but I know you get the idea. These donations aren’t for programs, they are for people – our neighbors in need.

The bottom line is that 100% of the proceeds from The Salvation Army Family Thrift Stores go back into the community. “Anybody can help,” stated Major Vick from the Greensboro Salvation Army. “Everyone has something in their closet that can help someone.” It’s true. I know I have a pair of shoes I could donate, and think of the difference that one pair of shoes could make in someone’s life.